At a news conference Monday morning, Jones and Chief Micheal Williams said Johnson’s arrest was the result of an intense investigation following the shooting, which occurred just moments after the city’s Moon Pie Drop ushered in 2013. Johnson was charged with first-degree assault and booked into Mobile Metro Jail.

Jones said, overall, the celebration was a great success and “the only thing that dampened the night was a gunshot.” He said just after the altercation, which left another 17-year-old with a gunshot wound to the leg.

The victim, whose name was not released, was treated and released from an area hospital.

“I told the chief that, whatever resources we needed to dedicate to that, as far as I’m concerned that person went to the top of our most-wanted list,” Jones said.

Williams said Johnson pulled out the small-caliber weapon after an altercation between he and the victim and fired “2 or 3 shots,” that could have hit any of the thousands of people in Bienville Square.

“Anyone could have been hit by that gunshot,” he said. “There were numerous small children around.”

Jones said the case was given priority due to the extreme public nature of the shooting, as well as the fact that it occurred in the middle of a string of city events, including the GoDaddy.com Bowl, the Senior Bowl and Mardi Gras, which begins downtown in a few weeks.

“We will not have people in this city worry about whether they are safe coming to activities,” that the community spends a lot of time and resources putting on, he said.

Williams added: “We needed to get this individual off of the streets.”

Police spokesman, Col. Christopher Levy, said Johnson was not currently enrolled in school, but the victim was, declining to release the name of the school.

While being transported to a nearby police cruiser, when asked whether he committed the crime, Johnson adamantly denied the charge.